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Mocha port hit
Yemen’s Houthis launched a new wave of missile and drone attacks on the Red Sea port city of al-Makha (Mocha), killing at least seven more people less than 24 hours after earlier attacks killed at least 11.
“killing at least seven more people less than 24 hours after earlier attacks killed at least 11”
The Yemeni armed forces said on Monday that four military personnel and three civilians were killed in the latest assault, while 30 others were wounded, most of them civilians.
The military said air defences intercepted and shot down 11 drones involved in the attack, and two ballistic missiles were reported to have fallen into the sea without hitting their targets.
Footage broadcast by the Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV showed several ballistic missiles and drones being launched, and Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the operation targeted Saudi troop concentrations and weapon depots in the area.
Competing claims
The Houthis said the operation involved a large number of ballistic missiles and drones and was launched in response to what they described as a continued Saudi military buildup, including reinforcement of allied forces with weapons and equipment along Yemen’s western coast and in Taiz province.
Houthi political council member Hizam al-Assad separately claimed that continuing explosions, fires and columns of smoke from the port were caused by large quantities of weapons and military equipment stored there.
Yemen’s armed forces framed the assault as an attack on its units in the Red Sea port city of Mocha, saying it viewed Sunday’s attack as an assault on the armed forces as a whole.
In a statement carried by Middle East Online, military spokesperson Colonel Wahed Abdullah Al-Nazzal said, “We possess the will, capability and initiative necessary to neutralize the sources of the threat,” while the same report noted the government has not confirmed the Houthis’ claims about what caused the smoke and fires.
Retaliation and risk
Yemen’s armed forces said they would respond to the Houthi missile and drone attack on Mocha that killed seven people and wounded 30 others, and they vowed to deal with such attacks on that basis.
“Yemen’s armed forces said Monday they would respond to a Houthi missile and drone attack on Mocha”
The military said it would continue operations against the Iran-backed Houthis while seeking to protect civilian lives and property, and it said the Houthis targeted civilian infrastructure, homes, power stations and military positions using missiles and drones.
Middle East Online described Mocha as a government-held city that has become an important stronghold along Yemen’s western coastline, and it said the port’s damage is particularly sensitive for an economy already devastated by more than a decade of conflict.
The same report said the escalation risks further destabilising one of Yemen’s most strategically important regions and placing additional pressure on an already fragile civilian population, while the National Resistance Forces urged residents to remain indoors during the renewed attacks and accused the Houthis of indiscriminate shelling.
